Action Park: America's First Deadly, Infamous Theme Park

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Children romp around at the water park on a hot summer's day. (Photo by Richard Koll/picture alliance via Getty Images)

You expect a fun day at your local amusement park to be just that: a fun day. You expect to eat way too much funnel cake before zooming through the loops of a rollercoaster while various safety equipment and employees (mostly) protect you from harm. (The funnel cake is generally an "at your own risk" kind of deal.) One former theme park in New Jersey, however, failed to live up to these expectations. In the twenty-plus years that the part was inexplicably allowed to remain open, six people died and more than 100 were injured during what was ostensibly supposed to be a whimsical outing with families and friends. Let's look at the history of Action Park, the scourge of New Jersey.